The lyrics are incredibly poignant, every line is important and says precisely what it means to say. There’s power in this, the power to impact and cause positive change – if only enough people can hear it.
Music
State Royale are walking their own creative pathway, taking hints of influence from various places but essentially sticking to their guns and the intended message and vibe they wish to portray.
Having toured with the likes of Beenie Man & Jimmy Cliff, Mullings’ experience & connection to the arts is unquestionable. On this track, his skills meet with the simple good vibes of the reggae genre, bringing together a free-flowing guitar solo & a lightly uplifting soundscape.
The variety and the refusal to fall below par or utilize filler to make it lengthier add even more worth to an already impressive and immersive hip hop collection.
The album reminds you to work hard, dream big, and stay focused. We all need this sometimes, and Noble offers it up in mass supply on this project, though he does so in a quiet & smooth way. A crisp & wonderful collection from a thoughtful artist clearly driven by positivity.
Vinyl Floor manage to entertain and impress on this project, likely bringing you to listen more than just the one time – turning to these songs when the sound of modern radio just doesn’t cut it.
The video & the song work in unison to portray the idea that it’s totally possible, OK, and encouraged, to speak up in the face of bullying. There’s a shared humanity in all of us, and nobody is out of reach or too disconnected to be approached.
What appears at first as a fitting and simple addition to the world’s hip hop, later evolves to be something more of a connection to a thoughtful, skillful individual – something fresh to find solace in.
This album is made up of an immeasurable number of details & experimental layers of audio. Barendo strikes as both an artist & musician, able to take any sound or collection of sounds & craft something unusual with them. At the same time, there’s a lot of heart & self-reflection in the writing – the chaos of the music doesn’t replace the desire to connect.
Some of the most common mistakes we make in life are those which are just so naturally human but that, at the time, make us feel like we’re the only ones going that way. This song addresses issues & recurring negative thoughts in a way that makes you feel part of something, more normal perhaps; less alone.
The whole EP has a stunning smoothness to it & in fact, to listen in full is to get the feeling that this is all part of a single thought or feeling. There’s only six minutes to make your way through, but when it ends, you feel the loudness of that silent void quite intensely.
An album of complex, hybrid sounds that somehow come together & work in harmony to create what is easily Cohen’s best work yet.